Simply Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio has landed a huge new deal with Sony Pictures.

The Oscar winner and entrepreneur has teamed up with Sony boss Tom Rothman, who worked with Leo on Romeo & Juliet over two decades ago, to sign off on the first-look deal, which Variety sources claim is set to last for years.

Reports suggest DiCaprio and the company executives are already developing two movies as the ink dries on the contract.

Celebrating the big deal on Thursday (August 13, 2020), Rothman said, “I first met the supernova talented Leonardo DiCaprio over 24 years ago on Romeo and Juliet. We then shipped out together on the Titanic and my admiration for him as a fully-rounded filmmaking genius has only increased over the many years since.

“His producing and acting instincts are both driven by service to the best material in the world. At Sony, we feel like we just landed a rare GOAT (greatest of all time) deal – as Michael Jordan and Tom Brady are to basketball and football, so is Leo to film.”

Excited DiCaprio added, “For over three decades in the business, Tom has never adhered to the traditional Hollywood norms. Never once taking the safe route, he truly values filmmakers and their vision and is extremely supportive of the theatre-going experience. I could not be more excited to enter into a new phase of partnerships with Sony.”

The first project in the deal will be Killers of the Flower Moon, a $180 million thriller set during the 1920s Oklahoma oil boom. The based-on-true-events project features plum roles for Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, whose characters will likely find themselves on opposite sides of a mysterious series of murders among oil-rich Native Americans from the Osage Nation.

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Rejoice, the next Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio collaboration is upon us! Osage News reports that their next film Killers of the Flower Moon will begin shooting in February of 2021.

Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear had this to say while giving a report to the 7^th Osage Nation Congress:

“My latest information is that they would start filming, subject to Coronavirus, February 2021 … And, they will be here for about 16 weeks. They’re going to start moving in here quietly, I’m not helping that very much, but quietly around November and December. So, they’re coming.”

As we reported in January, Killers of the Flower Moon will be based off the non-fiction novel of the same name by David Grann. The novel recounts the Osage Nation murders of the 1920s. Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro are set to star. The film, which has received a significant budget from Apple, is inspiring excitement in the Osage Nation community. Osage Nation ambassador Chad Renfro talked about the experience in an email correspondence:

“They are excited about the partnership with Apple and that they will be and are very much looking forward to filming here. The industry and production is basically at a standstill due to COVID 19 and timing is the biggest unknown … With safety for all being of greatest concern, once the industry protocol has been established and it is safe to embark on this important project, they will reach back out to us.”

Source: Full Circle Cinema

Aldous Huxley’s work is enjoying somewhat of an adaptation renaissance at the moment, especially with US streaming service Peacock heavily promoting its new TV take on the author’s most famous work, dysoptian tale Brave New World. Leonardo DiCaprio is looking to jump on the Huxley bandwagon, setting up a TV series based on his lesser-known final novel, Island.

Published in 1962 as a utopian counterpoint to World, Island follows a cynical journalist shipwrecked on the fictional utopian island of Pala in the Indian Ocean. Originally tasked with exploiting Pala’s natural resources, he uncovers an independently developed society and embraces the people, their culture and traditions — including psychedelic adventures and alternative social structures. His experience alters the course of his mission.

DiCaprio will be a producer on the series (which doesn’t yet have a home, though you can bet the likes of Netflix, Amazon and the rest will be interested), and the bet step will be to find a writer/producer to develop the show.

Source: Empire

Disney+ is going to space: “The Right Stuff,” the streaming service’s first scripted National Geographic original series, is inching closer to its fall premiere, and the series’ cast unveiled a new clip of the show at Comic-Con on Saturday.

The new “The Right Stuff” clip shown at Comic-Con centers on Alan Shepard (Jake McDorman), the first American to go to space. That’s quite an honor, but the clip teases that Alan’s journey isn’t easy; Alan receives delayed notice to attend a debriefing at the NASA Space Task Group Headquarters, and much of the clip centers on his frantic rush to arrive at the meeting while other attendees are given the rundown on the importance of the space race to the United States.

McDorman will star in the series alongside Patrick J. Adams, (“Suits”), Aaron Staton (“Mad Men”), James Lafferty (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Micah Stock (“Escape at Dannemora”), Michael Trotter (“Underground”), Colin O’Donoghue (“Once Upon a Time”), and Patrick Fischler (“Twin Peaks,” “Mad Men”). The show, based on Tom Wolfe’s eponymous 1979 non-fiction novel, is created by Mark Lafferty and produced Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way along with Warner Bros.

A specific release date for “The Right Stuff” has not been revealed.

The new “The Right Stuff” clip was revealed around the 31-minute mark in the show’s Comic-Con panel, which can be viewed below

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Netflix and Leonardo DiCaprio are reteaming for a feature adaptation to the documentary Virunga, which will be written by Oscar-winning Moonlight helmer Barry Jenkins. The Oscar-nominated docu, written and directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, was released on the streamer in 2014 and picked up an Oscar nomination.

DiCaprio, who served as an executive producer on the docu, is producing the project with his Appian Way partners Jennifer Davisson and Phillip Watson as well as Oscar-winner Joanna Natasegara for London-based Violet Films. von Einsiedel will serve as exec producer.

The true story follows rangers risking their lives to save Africa’s most precious national park and its endangered gorillas.

Jenkins, who was also lauded for his adaptation of James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk, is attached to direct Fox Searchlight’s biopic about Alvin Ailey, one of the most influential choreographers of the 20th Century. He also penned the screenplay to Rachel Morrison’s directorial debut, Flint Strong, and has a series adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s bestselling novel The Underground Railroad forthcoming on Amazon.

source: Deadline Hollywood

Leonardo DiCaprio is taking action amid the worldwide protests against police brutality that have erupted after the killing of George Floyd.

On Thursday, the actor and activist shared an image on his Instagram page that read, “I commit to listen, learn and take action.” In the caption, DiCaprio wrote, “I am dedicated to end the disenfranchisement of Black America, that has been present for too long. I will support those individuals, organizations and coalitions that are committed to bring about long-term change.”

He then pledged to “personally” donate to four organizations — Color of Change, Fair Fight Action, the NAACP and the Equal Justice Initiative — while calling on his followers to join him in his efforts and learn about the work done by the non-profits.

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I commit to listen, learn and take action. I am dedicated to end the disenfranchisement of Black America, that has been present for too long. I will support those individuals, organizations and coalitions that are committed to bring about long-term change. I will be donating personally to each of the following organizations. Please, join me, in following and learning from the organizations below. Color of Change – @ColorofChange Fair Fight Action – @FairFightAction The NAACP – @NAACP Equal Justice Initiative – @eji_org

A post shared by Leonardo DiCaprio (@leonardodicaprio) on Jun 4, 2020 at 6:01pm PDT

DiCaprio’s commitment comes amid continued, nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism after Floyd, an unarmed black man, died after a white police officer pinned him to the ground with a knee on his neck as Floyd said repeatedly he couldn’t breathe and pleaded for the officer to stop.